Hyderabad, is the capital of the state Telangana, India. It also goes by its sobriquet City of Pearls. As of 2010 it is the sixth most populous city and sixth-most populous urban agglomeration in India. Hyderabad was founded by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 on the banks of Musi. Today the city covers an area of approximately 650 km².The twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad come under the ambit of a single municipal unit, The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.

Hyderabad has developed into one of the major hubs for the information technology industry in India which has earned it the additional sobriquet "Cyberabad".In addition to the IT industry, various biotechnology and pharmaceutics companies have set up their operations in Hyderabad owing to its established Public sector in Life Science Research and Genome Valley. The city houses the most expensive residential real estate in Telangana in Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills. The city is home to the Telugu Film Industry, either the second- or third-largest in India, depending on the basis of measurement, known popularly as Tollywood.A Residents of Hyderabad are generally called Hyderabadis. Located at the crossroads of North and South India, Hyderabad has developed a unique culture that is reflected in its language and architecture.

Etymology

Theories explaining the origins and etymology behind Hyderabad's name differ. There is myth that after founding the city, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah fell in love with and married a local nautch girl known as Bhagmathi or Bhagyavathi, and named the city Bhagyanagaram. As per other legends, the city is named after the son in law of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, Ali Ibn Abi Talib, whose other name was Hyder , and this is the fact.

History

Although Hyderabad was founded less than 500 years ago, archaeologists have unearthed Iron Age sites near the city that could date back to 500 BC.Approximately over 1000 years ago this region was ruled by Kakatiyas. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, a ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty (the ruling family of the Golconda Sultanate, previously a feudatory of Bahmani sultanate that declared independence in 1512) founded the city of Hyderabad on the banks of the Musi River in 1591 to relieve a water shortage the dynasty had experienced at its old headquarters at Golconda city(11 kilometers west of Hyderabad city on the other side of Musi).He also ordered the construction of the Charminar.

The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb captured kingdom of Golconda including the city of Hyderabad in 1687 and, during this short Mughal rule, Mughal-appointed governors of the city soon gained autonomy. In 1724, Asaf Jah I, who was granted the title Nizam-ul-Mulk ("Governor of the country") by the Mughal emperor, defeated a rival official to establish control over kingdom of Golconda renamed it as Hyderabad state.Thus began the Asaf Jahi dynasty that ruled Hyderabad State until a year after India's independence from Britain. Asaf Jah's successors ruled as the Nizams of Hyderabad. The rule of the seven Nizams saw the growth of Hyderabad city both culturally and economically. Hyderabad city became the formal capital of the kingdom (Hyderabad state) and Golkonda city was almost abandoned. Huge reservoirs, like the Nizam Sagar, Tungabhadra, Osman Sagar, and Himayat Sagar, were built. Survey work on Nagarjuna Sagar had also begun during this time; the actual work was completed by the Government of India in 1969. The wealth and grandeur of the Nizams is demonstrated by the fabled Jewels of The Nizams, which is a tourist attraction. The state was the richest and the largest among the princely states of India. The land area of the state was 90,543 mi²; its population in 1901 was 50,073,759. It enjoyed an estimated revenue of 90,029,000 pound.

  In 1937, Time magazine said Hyderabad state was richest native state in India.

Before 1947, Hyderabad state was under the suzerainty of the British Crown but was not part of British India. In 1947, at the time of the independence of British India and its Partition into the Union of India and the new state of Pakistan, the British abandoned their claim to suzerainty over the Princely states and left them to decide their own future. The Nizam, because of Islamic leanings, wished either to remain independent or to accede to Pakistan. However, for the Indian Union, this was unacceptable from a strategic perspective. The Nizam's efforts also triggered the largest agrarian armed rebellion in modern Indian history. To deter the Nizam, Indian union chose to implement an economic blockade, which forced the state of Hyderabad to sign a Standstill Agreement with it. Eventually the Indian Union used military force against the landlocked princely state of Hyderabad. This operation, termed Operation Polo, was successful and on 17 September 1948, the Nizam signed an Instrument of Accession to the Union of India. The Constitution of India, which went into effect on 26 January 1950, made Hyderabad state one of the part B states of India and Hyderabad city continued to be its capital.
In 1955, Ambedkar was so impressed with amenities of Hyderabad city that he argued to make Hyderabad city as second capital of India. He said, "Hyderabad has all the amenities which Delhi has and it is a far better city than Delhi. It has all the grandeur which Delhi has. Buildings are going cheap and they are really beautiful buildings, far superior to those in Delhi. The only thing that is wanting is a Parliament House which the Government of India can easily build."

Since liberalisation in the 1990s, Hyderabad city has become one of the major hubs of the IT industry. The growth in the IT sector and opening of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport attracted activity in other economic sectors like real estate in the 2000s. However, the Global financial crisis of 2008–2009 has had a significant impact on construction activity.

Geography
Situated on the Deccan Plateau, Hyderabad has an average elevation of about 536 metres above sea level (1,607 ft). Most of the area has a rocky terrain and some areas are hilly. Crops are commonly grown in the surrounding paddy fields.
The original city of Hyderabad was founded on the banks of river Musi.Now known as the historic Old City, home to the Charminar and Mecca Masjid, it lies on the southern bank of the river. The heart of the city saw a shift to the north of the river, with the construction of many government buildings and landmarks there, especially south of the Hussain Sagar lake. The rapid growth of the city, along with the merging of Hyderabad, 12 municipal circles and the Cantonment has resulted in a large, united and populous area.

Climate
Hyderabad has a unique combination of a tropical wet and dry climate that borders on a hot semi-arid climate (K�ppen climate classification BSh), with hot summers from late February to early June, the monsoon season from late June to early October and a pleasant winter from late October to early February. In the evenings and mornings, the climate is generally cooler because of the city's good elevation. Hyderabad gets about 32 inches (about 810 mm) of rain every year, almost all of it concentrated in the monsoon months. The highest maximum (day) temperature ever recorded was 45.5 ^oC (113.9 ^oF) on 2 June 1966, while the lowest minimum (night) recorded temperature was 6.1 ^oC (43 ^oF) on 8 January 1946.

Demographics
The city's population in 2001 was 3.6 million and it has reached over 4.0 million by 2009 making it among the most populated cities in India, while the population of the metropolitan area was estimated above 6.3 million.Hyderabad is a metropolitan city, whose residents are adherents to a wide range of religions, predominentally Hinduism (55.40%), Islam (41.17%) but also others including Christianity (2.13%), and Sikhism (0.2%) and Jainism (0.4%).There are many iconic temples, mosques, and churches situated in the city.(see also: Hyderabadi Muslims).Muslims have substantial presence across the city and are predominant in and around Old City. Telugu and Urdu are the principal languages spoken in the city, while English is also widely spoken. Urdu spoken here has influences of Turkish, Persian and Hindi, giving rise to a dialect sometimes called Hyderabadi Urdu or Deccani. The official language, Telugu, varies a little across the state but the core language remains the same.

Administration

The city is administered by Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) which came into existence in 2007 after merging 12 municipalities with the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH).The titular head of GHMC is the Mayor of Hyderabad who has few executive powers. In the past, the mayor was earlier chosen by the legislative body of the municipal corporations. The state government modified the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act, 1955, to stipulate that the mayoral election be held directly and simultaneously with the corporation elections. The real executive power of the corporation is vested in the Municipal Commissioner, an IAS officer appointed by the Telangana state government.

The GHMC is in charge of the civic needs and the infrastructure of the city. Hyderabad is divided into 150 municipal wards, each overseen by a corporator. The corporators of the administration are elected through popular vote, and almost all the political parties field candidates. The twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad are spread over three districts, Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy and Medak. The District collectors also oversees the elections held in the city.

Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), is the urban planning agency of Hyderabad, India. It was formed in 2008 by expanding the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority. It contains the entire area of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and its suburbs. The enlarged jurisdiction of HUDA now extends to 54 Mandals located in five districts with a total area of nearly 6300 km�.

Hyderabad voters send 24 members to the Legislative Assembly, whose constituencies come under 5 Lok Sabha segments. The new Assembly segments and their respective parliamentary constituencies(PC) are: Malkajgiri, Kukatpally, Uppal, Lal Bahadur Nagar (LB Nagar), Secunderabad Cantonment, Quthbullapur under Malkajgiri PC; Musheerabad, Amberpet, Khairatabad, Jubilee Hills, Sanathnagar, Nampally, Secunderabad under Secunderabad PC; Malakpet, Karwan, Goshamahal, Yakutpura, Charminar, Chandrayanagutta, Bahadurpura under Hyderabad PC; Maheswaram, Rajendranagar, Serilingampally under Chevella PC and Patancheru under Medak PC.

The city is divided by the state police into Hyderabad Police and Cyberabad Police which come under the state Home Ministry and are headed by Police Commissioners, who are IPS officers. Basheerbagh houses important government offices such as the Police Commissioner's office, Police Control room, Income tax Commissioner's office, Central Excise and customs office, Central Reservation office etc. The city is divided into five police zones, each headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police. The Traffic Police is a semi-autonomous body under the Hyderabad and Cyberabad commissionerates.

As the seat of the government of Telangana, Hyderabad is home to the state's legislature, secretariat and high court, as well as various local government agencies. The Lower City Civil Court and the Metropolitan Criminal Court are under the jurisdiction of the High Court.The GHMC area contains 24 State Legislative Assembly constituencies, which form five constituencies of the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Parliament of India).

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly

Economy           
Hyderabad is the financial, economic and political capital of the state of Telangana. The city is the largest contributor to the state's Gross Domestic Product, state tax and excise revenues. Hyderabad ranks 93rd (as of 2008) in the List of richest cities in the world by GDP (PPP) with US$60 bn and sixth in India. In terms of GDP per capita (PPP), Hyderabad ranks 4th in India with US$6,428 and a workforce participation of 29.55%[citation needed]. Hyderabad is ranked as the 2nd best Indian city for doing business in the Doing Business 2011 Report published by the World Bank Group.
Starting in the 1990s, the economic pattern of the city has changed from being a primarily service city to being one with a more diversified spectrum, including trade, transport, commerce, storage, communication etc. Service industry is the major contributor, with urban workforce constituting 90% of the total workforce.
Hyderabad is known as the city of pearls, lakes. The bangles market known as Laad Bazaar is situated near Charminar. Products such as silverware, saris, Nirmal and Kalamkari paintings and artifacts, unique Bidri handcrafted items, lacquer bangles studded with stones,silk ware, cotton ware and handloom-based clothing materials are made and traded through the city for centuries.   

Hyderabad is a major center for Pharma & Biotech with companies such as USP, Novartis, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Agilent, Biological E limited, Shantha Biotechnics, Sanofipasteur, Bharath Biotech, GVK BIO, Matrix Laboratories, Krebs biochemicals, Magene Lifesciences, AstraZeneca, Hetero Drugs Limited, Divis Labs, Aurobindo Pharma Limited, Quintiles Ocimum Biosolutions, Lee Pharma, MAKRO, Gene-Tech, Vimta Labs etc. being housed in the city. Initiatives such as Genome Valley, Fab City and the Nano Technology park are expected to create extensive infrastructure in bio-technology.

Like many Indian cities, Hyderabad has witnessed a high growth in the real estate business,thanks to an information-technology-driven boom in the 1990s and the retail industry growth over the last few years which have spurred hectic commercial activity. A number of mega malls have come up or are being built in the city.Real estate demand in the suburban and rural areas surrounding Hyderabad has gone up exponentially leading to a rapid increase in prices over the past few years. The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India

 (CREDAI) is quite optimistic about the coming times. Leveraging on the trend, many property developers like Godrej Properties , PBEL, Janapriya Properties, Ramky Estates and more have set up base in the city leading to a rapid increase in prices over the past few years.[41] Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills, Begumpet and Himayath Nagar areas are considered the posh residential areas of Hyderabad.

The retail industry in Hyderabad is on the rise. Many international and national brands have set up retail chains here. The city has multiple Central Business Districts (CBDs) spread across the city. There are many major business/commercial districts from the older Charminar area to newer Kothaguda. For the advancement of infrastructure in the city, the government is building a skyscraper business district at Manchirevula, near Rajendranagar with a 450 m supertall structure APIIC Tower at its centre. Also, the Lanco Hills near Gachibowli presents the tallest structure in India for residential and commercial purposes.

Hyderabad has established itself as the leading destination for IT and IT-enabled services, BPO and entertainment industries. Many computer software companies, software consulting firms, business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, dealing with IT and other technological services firms have established their offices and facilities in the city since the 1990s.

The development of a township with related technological infrastructure called HITEC City prompted several IT and ITES companies to set up operations in the city. An aggressive promotion of growth in this area has led civic boosters to call the city Cyberabad.There have been extensive investments in digital infrastructure within the city promoting the setting up of several campuses by a vast array of companies within the city. This list includes several multinational corporations having established their development centres in the city. Major areas where such campuses have been set up are Madhapur, Kondapur, Gachibowli and Uppal. Microsoft (with its largest R&D campus outside the US), Oracle Corporation etc. have set up operations in Hyderabad. For a more comprehensive list of IT companies in Hyderabad, refer to Software industry in Telangana. TCS Deccan park is one of the active branches of TCS in hyderabad. The 20th International World Wide Web Conference took place in Hyderabad.

Cyber Towers at Hitech City in Hyderbad

Microsoft R&D Campus in Gachibowli,Hyderabad.

Education and research

Schools in Hyderabad are affiliated to either CBSE, SSLC or ICSE. Schools are run by either state government, local governing bodies, private individuals, missionaries or other agencies. Children in Hyderabad schools have to study for ten years in schools, followed by two years in junior college before becoming eligible to enroll for graduation programme in a college. In schools the medium of instruction is either English, Telugu or Urdu.

The University of Hyderabad was recently ranked first in Indian subcontinent in the R&D arena.In addition to various colleges, the city is home to three central universities, two  deemed universities, and six state universities. Colleges in Hyderabad are generally affiliated to Osmania University. Osmania University, established in 1917, is the seventh oldest university in India and the third oldest in South India.

Indian School of Business an international business school ranked number 12 in global MBA rankings by the Financial Times of London in 2010 established by a group of Fortune 500 CEOs in collaboration with AP Government is also located in Hyderabad.Institute of Public Enterprise is a premier Business School at Hyderabad and is recognized as a "Centre of Excellence" by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, New Delhi for doctoral studies. IPE ranks among 'Top Government -Aided B-Schools' by "Center for Forecasting published in Wall Street Journal 2009" and it ranked 23rd overall India by CSR-GHRDC B-School Survey 2009.

Colleges in Hyderabad offer graduation, post graduation and doctoral programmes in science, arts, engineering, commerce, law & medicine,fashion. College of Engineering – Osmania University, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, Birla Institute of Technology & Science , Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Indian Institute of Technology, etc. are some of the famous engineering schools in Hyderabad. In addition to engineering colleges, various institutes known as National Institute Of

Fashion Technology offer various degree course in the field of fashion, polytechnics offer a three year course in engineering. However,this does not lead to complete graduation.

Gandhi Medical College and Osmania Medical College are the centres of medical education in Hyderabad. Admissions to professional colleges in Hyderbad is through EAMCET.

Colleges and universities in Hyderabad are run by either by state government, central government or private individuals or agencies.

NALSAR, NIPER, Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, English and Foreign Languages University, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, are some of the other universities located in Hyderabad.

Osmania University in Hyderabad

IndianSchoolofBusiness

Shamirpet is home to NALSAR, BITS and Genome Valley

Research institutions

Hyderabad is home to various CSIR and other public sector research institutes such as Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology(CCMB), Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics CDFD, National Geophysical Research Institute(NGRI), National Institute of Nutrition(NIN), Indian Immunologicals Limited(IIL),Institute of Genetics and Hospital for Genetic Diseases (IGHD), Center For Food Technological Research Institute(CFTRI),Central Institute for Medicinal and Aromatic plants,(CIMAP), National Mineral Development Corpation(NMDC), IRISET for railway signal engineering and ICRISAT. Further, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) labs like ANURAG, DMRL, DRDL and DERL are facilitated with research centres in Hyderabad to develop communication and radar systems and for the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). Nuclear energy sector has a large presence with three organisations under Department of Atomic Energy (India) including the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL).

Hyderabad hosted the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM),in August 2010. More than 2500 Mathematicians from all over the world had participated in this conference.Hyderabad is also hosting the International World Wide Web (WWW) conference in the first-half of 2011.

Transport

Roads
Hyderabad is connected to the rest of the country by National Highways—NH-7, NH-9 and NH-202. Hyderabad is also well connected to the remaining parts of the state. Like other cities, Hyderabad suffers from traffic congestion. Completion of the Inner Ring Road and construction of the Outer Ring Road encircling Hyderabad city is also underway and is touted to make travel in the city easier. Many flyovers and underpasses are also being constructed to ease traffic congestion in the city.The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation runs a fleet of 19,000 buses, the largest in the world. Hyderabad has the third largest bus station facility in Asia, with 72 platforms for 89 buses to load passengers at a time. Officially named as the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station, it is locally known as the Imlibun Bus Station, Jubilee Bus Station at Secunderabad runs buses to various parts of the state and to some parts of South India. 

Local transport
The yellow colored Auto Rickshaw usually referred to as an auto, is the most widely used transport service and has flag down minimum fare of Rs 12 for first 1.5 km and then Rs 7 per km. Radio Taxis and cabs by private players have provided an easy travel in the city.

Rail

Railways were first introduced in the city in the year 1869 with the commencement of Secunderabad–Wadi line of Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway. Secunderabad Railway Station is the headquarters of the South Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways and is the largest railway station serving Hyderabad. The other major railway stations serving the city are Hyderabad Deccan Station (Nampally), Kachiguda Railway Station and Begumpet Railway Station. These stations provide connectivity within the city and the rest of the country.


Local Trains

Hyderabad has a light rail transportation system known as the MultiModal Transport System (MMTS) which runs local services providing connectivity mainly to the IT corridor and Secunderabad. MMTS Phase 2 is expected to complete by 2012. The SCR plans to incorporate more rakes.
Hyderabad Metro, the proposed rapid transit for the city is executed by L&T, and is expected to operate 4 lines by 2014.

Secretariat Flyover lit up at night.

The Secunderabad Railway Station

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad

Sports

The 2003 Afro-Asian Games was the second largest sports event held in India. Shown here is the Opening Ceremony at the GMC Balayogi Stadium.
Cricket and Field hockey are the most popular sports in the city. Hyderabad Sultans won the inaugural Premier Hockey League championship in 2005. The city took pride in hosting National Games and Afro-Asian Games. The 4th Military World Games with participation from 110 countries was held in Hyderabad in October 2007. Hyderabad 10k Run is a marathon event conducted every year.

The earliest stadium built in the city is the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium. Formerly known as Fateh Maidan, it was, till recently, the city's only stadium that could conduct International cricket matches. The first cricket match played here was on 19 November 1955. The stadium is currently being used to conduct ICL matches. The new Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium at Uppal has a capacity of approximately 55,000 spectators and is being enhanced to have world class facilities. It houses an ultra-modern gymnasium along with a swimming pool. It has been recently accorded Test match status by the International Cricket Council.

Noted sports persons of International stature from Hyderabad include Ghulam Ahmed, M L Jaisimha, Mohammed Azharuddin, VVS Laxman, Venkatapathy Raju, Shivlal Yadav, Arshad Ayub, Noel David (Cricket), Syed Abdul Rahim,Sania Mirza (Lawn Tennis), Pullela Gopichand, Jwala Gutta, Saina Nehwal, Chetan Anand (Badminton), Mukesh Kumar (Hockey).

Hyderabad's Deccan Chargers franchise in the Indian Premier League was bought by Deccan Chronicle for USD 107 million. Deccan Chargers won the title for the year 2009. The city also has an ICL team named Hyderabad Heroes.

The city houses the Swarnandhra Pradesh Sports Complex, the G.M.C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium at Gachibowli for hockey and football and a sophisticated Velodrome for cycling at Osmania University. The city has state-of-the-art venues for gymnastics, archery and sepak takraw, shooting at Saroornagar Indoor Arena and University of Hyderabad respectively. The Aquatics Complex Stadium at Gachibowli, with a capacity of 3000 spectators hosts swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized events. Kotla Vijay Bhaskar Reddy Indoor Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium with a capacity of 2500 spectators and wooden flooring with temperature control. SAAP Tennis Complex has a central court that holds 5000 spectators and has seven courts with synthetic surface. Water games like rowing, yachting, kayaking and canoeing are conducted at Hussain Sagar lake. The city also has five Go-Karting tracks and a Paint Ball Field. There are venues for table-tennis, basketball, equestrianism, boxing, weight-lifting with world class facilities. Hyderabad is fast becoming the hub of motosports events in AP, the Andhra Pradesh motor sports club (APMSC) which was started way back in 1977, has been instrumental in organising popular events like the Deccan 1/4 Mile Drag, TSD Rallies, 4x4 Off road in the recent past which received participation from all corners of India.

Hyderabad has hosted the 2003 Afro-Asian Games at the G.M.C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium in which India won 19 gold medals and made second right behind Chine.

The city is well known for Horse racing. The Hyderabad Race Club formerly known as the Nizam Race Club is located at Malakpet. The Hyderabad race club attracts jockeys from all over the country by conducting various derbys/events here. The Deccan derby, a popular annual event is a regular feature here. The winter races also were conducted here recently. Badminton events take place at the Kotla Vijay Bhaskar Stadium and also at Gachibowli stadiums, and also played by youth and veterans in locality parks.
(Courtesy www.wikipedia.org)

Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Uppal

G.M.C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium

The 2003 Afro-Asian Games was the second largest sports event held in India. Shown here is the Opening Ceremony at the GMC Balayogi Stadium.